AQUILINE. 31 



barred indistinctly ; plumage beneath reddish -brown, palest on 

 the feathers of the tarsi, and the feathers streaked with dark- 

 brown. 



The young bird is white beneath, head and neck also with 

 white edges to the feathers and the brown of the upper parts 

 lighter, and the white markings on the wing more distinct ; the 

 upper tail-coverts also are whitish, and the tail distinctly barred on 

 both webs. There is very generally a white shoulder spot at all 

 ages, and the forehead is white in some. 



The Dwarf Eagle occurs sparingly throughout the district. 

 It is, perhaps, less uncommon in the Deccan than elsewhere. 

 The nest, composed of twigs, is generally built on a high tree ; 

 the eggs, two in number, are similar to those of Milvws govinda, 

 but are perhaps more highly colored. They may be looked for 

 in February. 



GENUS, Neopus, Hodgson. 



Bill rather small, slight, bending from the base, much hooked 

 at tip, with a slight festoon in the upper mandible ; cere rather 

 large ; nostrils ovoid, oblique ; wing very long, equal to or exceed- 

 ing the long tail ; fourth and fifth quills equal and longest ; first 

 quill short ; second nearly equal to the third ; the larger quills 

 strongly emarginate ; tail long, slightly rounded ; tarsus feathered, 

 somewhat feeble, of moderate 1 ength ; toes short, unequal, the outer- 

 toe very short, and the claw small ; inner-toe very large, nearty 

 as long as the central one, and stouter, and the claw much larger, 

 longer than the hind-claw ; all the claws moderately curved. 



Neopus malayensis, Rein. 



32. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. I, p. 65 ; Butler, Deccan and 

 South Mahratta country ; Stray Feathers, Yol. IX, p. 372 ; 

 Hume's Scrap Book, p. 187. 



THE BLACK EAGLE. 



3. Length, 27'5 ; wing, 22 ; tail, 14. 



?, Length, 30'5 ; wing, 23; tail, 14 ; tarsus, 4. 

 Cere, gape, and feet deep yellow ; bill greenish-horny, black at 

 tip ; irides dark brown. 



Of an uniform brown -black, paler and duller beneath ; upper 

 tail-coverts barred with white ; tail with some light bars ; quills 

 faintly barred with grey on their inner webs. 



The Black Eagle occurs sparingly along the Western Ghats, 

 but has not as yet been recorded from any other part of the 

 district. 



The very peculiar feet of this bird make it a very easy one 

 to identify. The genus consists of this one s pecies only. 



GENUS, Nisaetus, Hodgs. 



Bill moderately long, strong, deep, much hooked at the tip, 

 moderately compressed ; cere large ; nostrils large, elliptic ; upper 



